This invention relates to writing instruments, and in particular to a safety-tipped pencil which largely prevents the possibility of puncture wounds by the tip when sharpened.
Pencils of the nature of the invention are normally formed of wood, plastic or composite materials in a generally elongated, cylindrical configuration with a central core of writing graphite or other similar material. When sharpened in a conventional pencil sharpener of any type, the tip of the pencil is formed in a steep conical configuration, which, while easy to hold, is also quite sharp. In the hands of small children, such a tip can become dangerous, either due to accidental or inadvertent use of the pencil, or malicious use of the pencil as a weapon. Skin puncture wounds and eye injuries are unfortunate and common results of a normal sharp-tipped pencil. Often, young children are given large diameter pencils, but even such pencils, with a sharpened tip, are as dangerous as the normal diameter pencil.
Writing instruments have been proposed with tips other than that of the pointed pencil. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,861,466 discloses a crayon holder where the crayon has a rounded tip. U.S. Pat. No. 2,409,000 discloses a crayon having a core of writing lead for strengthening the crayon, the core having a generally flat tip. Typically, however, pencils or crayons are sharpened with a conical shape, and can be sharpened to a potentially dangerous point.